The present invention relates generally to mode selecting methodologies for electronic devices, such as, but not limited to timepieces such as watches, and in particular, to an improved selecting methodology for an electronic device that includes the ability to manually enable and disable modes and their functions from within a larger set of a plurality of modes, thus being able to more particularly and desirably customize the functionality of the electronic device.
Watches having a plurality of modes are well known and described in a multitude of issued patents, such as, but not limited to commonly assigned, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,783,773, issued Nov. 8, 1988 to Houlihan et al.; 4,780,864, issued Oct. 25, 1988 to Houlihan; U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,226, issued Sep. 10, 1996, to Ronald S. Lizzi and 4,283,784 issued Aug. 11, 1981 to Horan, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
There continues to be a push towards incorporating more and more functionality into such electronic devices, such as providing more and more modes that a user may find useful and/or desirable. Currently, the most common modes that may be found in such electronic devices (watches being used as an example, and not limitation) are: a time-of-day (TOD) mode, a date (DATE) mode, a chronograph (CHRONO) mode, an alarm setting (ALARM) mode, a countdown (TIMER) mode, and even an alternate time zone (T2) mode. All of these modes are now accessible in a number of ways, such as through the sequencing thereof using manually actuatable side and top pushers, and even more recently by the use of a rotating stem and/or top ring, as more particularly set forth in commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/264,523, filed on Mar. 8, 1999, entitled xe2x80x9cCombined Crown and Pusher Electro Mechanism,xe2x80x9d by Michel G. Plancon, application Ser. No. 09/327,769, filed on Jun. 7, 1999, entitled xe2x80x9cCrown Switching Mechanism,xe2x80x9d by Gerhard Stotz, and application Ser. No. 09/359,223, filed on Jul. 22, 1999, entitled xe2x80x9cSetting Functions For A Multimode Timepiecexe2x80x9d by G. Stotz, et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
As would be expected, watch designers, and programmers, are continuously striving for, constructing and/or designing such electronic devices, such as watches, to be more and more xe2x80x9cuser friendly.xe2x80x9d One such attempt is to provide a user with more and more available modes while at the same time attempting to permit the user to cycle through such modes more easily and conveniently.
A perceived deficiency in the prior art is not in the providing of users with more and more options, but rather of the information overload and frustration that such voluminous information availability causes. That is, what modes may be desirable for one user may be useless for another user. For example, a user who wants only the aforementioned TOD, CHRONO and ALARM mode may find it frustrating to be continually required to cycle through other unneeded modes, while a different user may only have a desired use for the TOD and T2 modes. As watches are programmed with additional features and mode availabilities, the potential for user information xe2x80x9coverloadxe2x80x9d and frustration increases.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide users with an ability to customize and more particularly configure the functionality of the electronic device in a manner that overcomes the foregoing perceived deficiencies. The present invention achieves the aforementioned and below mentioned advantages.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved programming and mode selecting methodology for multimode electronic devices and, in particular, to provide an improved methodology that allows users to customize and more particularly configure the functionality of the electronic device, and, in particular, of a wristwatch.
It is another object and advantage of this invention to provide an improved mode selecting methodology for such electronic devices that makes the device more xe2x80x9cuser friendly.xe2x80x9d
It is yet another object and advantage of this invention to provide an improved mode selecting methodology that permits for a simpler user interface that makes the device more marketable to a wider range of users.
It is still another object and advantage of this invention to provide an improved mode selecting methodology that permits manufactures, designers or programmers of such devices to further provide users with demanded functionality, yet provide a construction and methodology to permit the user to individually customize the device to better meet the users needs and desires therefor.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a multimode device that can provide additional mode capability and functionality.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device having an improved multi-level user interface.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device having multi-level mode capabilities that is easy for a user to access.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
The foregoing and other problems are overcome and the objects and advantages are realized by methods and constructions in accordance with embodiments of this invention, wherein improved mode selecting and programming methodologies and a construction thereof for a multimode electronic device are disclosed.
Generally speaking, a method for enabling or disabling mode functions in a multimode electronic device of the type having a mode selecting mechanism and an integrated circuit operable in at least a mode selecting mode and a mode enabling/disabling mode is provided. In a preferred embodiment, the method comprising the steps of selecting a mode enabling/disabling mode from a plurality of modes by initiating activation of the mode selecting mechanism until the mode enabling/disabling mode is exhibited, causing the integrated circuit to enter the mode enabling/disabling mode, exhibiting at least mode function indicators for at least one of the exhibited mode functions within the plurality of modes as the mode selecting mechanism is cycling through the display of mode functions, and selecting the mode function for which enabling or disabling is desired and initiating the switching of the mode function from one of disabled to enabled if the mode function was disabled or one of enabled to disabled if the mode function was enabled. In one particular embodiment, the mode selecting mechanism includes a rotating switching mechanism, and the method includes the step of selecting the mode enabling/disabling mode by rotating the switching mechanism in a first or second direction until the mode enabling/disabling mode is exhibited and causing the integrated circuit to enter the mode enabling/disabling mode by the displacement of the rotating switching mechanism from a first position to a second position. Additionally, the step of initiating the switching of the mode function from one of disabled to enabled or one of enabled to disabled is preferably achieved by the step of pressing a button that is operatively coupled to the integrated circuit.
The present invention is also directed to an electronic device that can carry out the foregoing methodology. In a preferred construction, the device includes an integrated circuit operable (a) in at least a mode selecting mode in which the device is capable of cycling among and between a plurality of modes, and (b) a mode enabling/disabling mode for selectively enabling or disabling one or more of the plurality of modes; a switching mechanism for cycling among the plurality of modes, for selecting the mode enabling/disabling mode and for entering the mode enabling/disabling mode; means for exhibiting at least mode function indicators for each exhibited mode function within the plurality of modes; and an enabler/disabler for enabling a mode function if the mode was disabled or disabling the mode function if the mode was enabled. Similarly, the switching mechanism may be a rotating switching mechanism. In a preferred embodiment, the electronic device is a timepiece and specifically, a wristwatch.